as in to complain
to make often peevish criticisms or objections about matters that are minor, unimportant, or irrelevant
you know it drives me crazy when you niggle like that
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in quibble
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in qualm
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of niggle
Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 21 Aug. 2024
Don’t jeopardize your health or well-being to fit a criterion someone else is niggling you to adopt.
—Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 28 July 2024
Kyle Foley, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Nov. 2024
There are a few remaining niggles such as the unpredictable automatic windscreen wipers and variable experiences with Autopilot.
—James Morris, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for niggle
Verb
From 2021 onwards, only a calf and niggling knee injury have caused Fullkrug to miss games.
—Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 21 Aug. 2024
Don’t jeopardize your health or well-being to fit a criterion someone else is niggling you to adopt.
—Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 28 July 2024
Noun
When the lineup had to be rotated to rest players nursing niggles, backups slotted in with virtually no noticeable decline in team play.
—Kyle Foley, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Nov. 2024
There are a few remaining niggles such as the unpredictable automatic windscreen wipers and variable experiences with Autopilot.
—James Morris, Forbes, 19 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for niggle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for niggle
Verb
-
Nobody is complaining about the bang for the buck regarding Betts or the Dodgers.—
Terence Moore,
Forbes.com,
29 Mar. 2025
-
The executive order against Jenner & Block complains that the firm re-hired a lawyer, Andrew Weissmann, who was part of Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference to benefit Trump in the 2016 presidential election.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Conclusion Those are minor quibbles with what is a surprisingly affordable, comfortable and capable all-terrain, long-distance e-bike.—
William Roberson,
Forbes,
10 Mar. 2025
-
The report found the company to be exceptional, with quibbles so minor that explaining them here would require a crash course in the dense lexicon of climate reporting.—
Justin Worland,
TIME,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
While the logic of his qualm with Santos is sound, the emotion of it has a lot to do with something else.—
Ryan Schwartz,
TVLine,
6 Mar. 2025
-
Boasting a creamy, almost serum-like texture, this offers a surprising medium coverage against dark spots, dark circles, and various other complexion qualms.—
Kiana Murden,
Vogue,
15 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
On top of this, her mother and sister are fussing about her future relationship status, which leads to them plotting some dates for her.—
Tommy Tuberville,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
-
The world saw this five-man group as an ideal of friendship, a community working and living together, fussing and fighting but making rough beauty out of it.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
21 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Schumer has received backlash since helping to avert a government shutdown by aiding the Republicans in passing their stopgap spending plan over the objection of the majority of his fellow Democratic Senators and House Democrats.—
Rebecca Schneid,
TIME,
23 Mar. 2025
-
Home demolished During winter break at the University of Idaho, a demolition began of the home where the murders took place, over the objections of some of the victims' family members.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA TODAY,
22 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
About 70% to 80% of people experience a tremor, James Beck, PhD, chief scientific officer at the Parkinson’s Foundation, told Health.—
Kristen Fischer,
Health,
11 Mar. 2025
-
For individuals with vision loss or tremors, using scissors or knives to open a package is a dangerous proposition that could easily lead to unintended injury.—
Bill Schiffmiller,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
For one, both experts say that being too rigid can also lead to self-sabotaging behaviors, like rejecting otherwise great matches for superficial reasons or coming up with excuses to nitpick things that never mattered before.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
14 Feb. 2025
-
Plus, getting to know each other tends to take priority over nitpicking the small stuff during the whirlwind honeymoon phase.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
24 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The challenge in copying Ernie Accorsi’s defining move as Giants general manager is there doesn’t appear to be an Eli Manning in this class, let alone a Ben Roethlisberger or Philip Rivers.—
Dan Duggan,
The Athletic,
22 Mar. 2025
-
Ensign said the Department of Homeland Security is complying with the law during deportations, and people could file challenges individually in Texas, where they were held before being sent to El Salvador.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
22 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Niggle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/niggle. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share